Rawhide Backing Question

[PeteDavis]

Howdy-

I was wondering about deer rawhide as a backing. I have a nicely tanned deerskin from my first bowkilled deer. I thought about using part of it as a backing for a Rudder board stave. What kind of backing does deer hide make, what is a good adhesive, and what finish is best over to keep water out? Also, can I narrow the limbs a bit if I use this backing?

PD

[bcbull]

  hey pete  by all means use it !! indians  did  and i do a lot  in fact iv got 5  or 6 sets of  em cut ready to use at all times,,   works great i prefer it  over  other rawhide  but i like goat hide also beef hide seems a bit heavey  you can back it with hideglue thats  the old way  but latley iv done some of em with tb 3  i like that better than hide glue  good luck  have fun brock

[Hillbilly]

Pete, deer rawhide is good backing material. Is it tanned, or still raw? If it's already been tanned, it probably won't work as well as just rawhide. I don't know about narrowing the limbs, rawhide is more of a protective backing than a working backing. Any kind of glue from hide glue to Titebond should work well, just dampen the hide and put it on, maybe wrap it with an Ace bandage or something for awhile. Any finish should work over it, Helmsman spar urethane has worked good for me on whitewood bows her in the Mountains of Moisture.

[Pat B]

Deer raw hide is very strong and thin and makes excellent bow backing. A tanned hide, on the other hand, would work for decoration although I personally would stay away from using tanned hides of any kind as bow backings. A tanned hide is like a sponge and will absorb moisture and moisture and wood bows don't mix very well. JMHO.     Pat

[PeteDavis]

OK. I'll wait on this one.
For future reference, what method do you use, to get the hair off a deer hide but keep the hide "raw"?
PD

[Hillbilly]

I stretch it out on a frame or tack it to a wall and let it dry stiff, then scrape the hair off with a sharp scraper, whether I'm making rawhide or buckskin. You can also buck it by soaking it in a solution of wood ashes, lye, or lime and wetscrape it, or soak it in water until the hair starts to slip.

[Stringman]

I soaked a hide for about 3 days last year until the hair slipped and then used the back of my cabinet scraper to remove hair. It's a bit of a mess and leaves a lot of hair in the yard. But as long as you have an understanding wife and no close neighbors you should get away with it. Afterwards make sure to tack it out and let it dry stretched out.

[mullet]

  You can freeze and then thaw it. Then freeze it again and thaw it, and the hair will just about fall off.

[JackCrafty]

I use hydrated lime from the garden section of the local hardware store.  It's used as a soil additive to make it less acidic.  I figure if I can add it to dirt without hurting anything then I can dump the bucking solution on the ground and not worry about it.

I just mix a couple cups of hydrated lime in a 30 gal bin (half full), add a few hides and wait a few days.  I noticed that if the weather is warm, it shortens the time needed to slip the hair.